GOAL REFLECTION

Why Master of Art in Educational Technology?

​

When I applied for the Master of Art in Educational Technology (MAET), I had been teaching fully online for 3 years. At first, I wasn’t sure what teaching online would be like or if I would stick with it for very long. However, by the end of the 3rd school year, I knew I had found my niche and wanted to stay in online education. At that point, it was time to get a formal education in Educational Technology and Online Learning. 

Going into the MAET program I had 3 goals.

1. Be the best educator I can be for my student

In order to do this, I needed to formally study educational technology and online education. While I have learned a lot during my time in the classroom, that does not replace learning the pedagogy behind technology in education. 

2. Be a leader and innovator in Ed Tech and Online Learning

While getting a formal education is not necessary for this goal, I wanted a strong academic background to achieve this goal. Technology and education have forever been entwined and I wanted to learn how to navigate it successfully.

3. Grow my Professional Learning Network (PLN)

If there is one thing I have learned from being an educator so far it is that we cannot go at it alone. Support from other educators in the field is necessary and I wanted to learn from those who shared my same values in education. 

​

Looking back and reflecting on these lofty goals, I realize that they are completely fluid and I will always be working towards them. They are not something I will one day achieve and be able to check off my list. Rather, I will need to continually push my limits as an educator as both the technology and education world keep evolving. During my time in the MAET program, I can confidently say that I made large strides forward from where I started with each goal. 

After successfully completing the MAET program, my goals will not change. Due to the ever changing world of technology in education, there will always be room for growth for each of my goals. However, I would like to reorder the importance of my goals. In my application, I ordered these goals from most important (1) to least important (3). I would like to move my third goal about my PLN into 1st place. The people I have worked with in this program have forever changed my life. Working alongside individuals with the MAET mindset (that deserves an essay on its own), has pushed me to become a better educator than I ever thought I could be. This program has challenged me to my limits and then allowed me to expand my limits immeasurably. I realized that to be the best educator I can be for my students and to be a leader and innovator in the field, I need a strong network of educators who I can rely on to help me grow by constantly driving me to be better than the previous day.